Fire-protection device for cinematograph-machines.



B. W. FOX.

FIRE PROTECTION DEVICE FOR OINEMATOGEAPH MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 5, 1913.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHBET 1.

76C:- mp re/ease median/3m INVENTOR .E'ZZZS flFox.

W/ T/VESSES:

A TTOR/VEYS.

E. W. FOX.

FIRE PROTECTION DEVICE FOR GINEMATOGRAPH MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.5,1918.

1,1 30,079. Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

75 0.2a memo/mm WITNESSES. IN VEN TOR Ellis WIoxfaflne? By M A TTORIWEVSv Toiall whom it may-concern:-

v emf- B PATENT oral-ca.

1425 W or 4 9 was amen d mama J n i Be it known that I, straw-.5 Fox, a citizen of the Dominion of- Canada, residing-at Vancouver, in the Province':of 'Brit-1$h=Co- 5 dumbia, Canaida, have invented certain-mew and useful-Improvements in Fire-Protection Devices for -Ci-nematograph -Mach-ines,- of

which the following is-aspecifica-tioni This invention relates to a device for automatically closing the beam and viewing apertures ofa cinematog'raph operators rooxm in the event of'the film catching fire.

Owing to the particularly inflammable natureof the film, municipal authorities and the fire underwriters ,require-that-every precaution be takento confineuthe fire; within 4 -the.o eratorsroomjl and-avoid-unnecessar alarm'or panic, infurtherancerof which object the apertures from -;the 7 room into the auditorium are closablegwith" metal I shutters thatmay be dropped in the event of fire.

,It isthe object of this device-to closethese shutters automatically ifthe-film inpassing through the machinecatches fire adjacent to the-magazine'- i, essenti l feature of the invention lies the use ofanelectr ical means to operate the latch release mechanism of the shutter's. eit ei r sr y desi ned o c -t .shutterst I efsame provisionjs also available for performing "any vother operation of safety precaution, such as thefreleasing of .any ;;ncchan1sm to .close the metal box or place where-extra reelsof arellcept, the eleasing of any mechanis nused for opening: windows or wentilators, inoperating 1 th closing of call bell circuit =used for 1 calling fQD assistance, the ;1:eleasing 1 of any mechanism for .turning, .,on the lights of vthe auditorium,

. The invention islparticularly described in the following specification, reference ,being made to the drawingsiiby which it is accompanied, in whichc, v i

Figure 1 is a, vertical section: through the device showing more or: less diagzrammatieally the battery, .theelecbromagx ret and; its circuit .19

whichfl-the mechan sm is con- I 1g; 2 is aiiront elevation of the trolled.

.end of the magazineshowingfthe same with- .out the' battery and electromagnet Fig. '3 is a perspective view of the c rcuit closing devicedetached .j-.Fig 4 isad eg am Ofthe circuitf- Fig. 5is a faee View showing. the

, twm'mfl en j h e he m wh h eheanereeeet Its eeet ale the S' iecificationof etters rain.

shutterclosing. Fig.6 is'an'enlai' ed pen- 'spect-ive' view I of the shutter-"release ar," "and Fig. =7- is a cross section of'the-shutter release on a vertical line throughIthe-viewing aperture:

In these drawmgsll represents themaga'r and 5;is the loose iloop providing for-the. 1n- 5 termittentmovement .of the-film-v astxthe light; This loop 5 is protectd rom -the light .fromthe lamp by-ane-uppr-loo guard, but as ignitionof the film-is most magazine 2 is selected. for the-location of .the'safety fuse, the release bfwhich: under heater flame is designed to iefl'ect theclosing of the wall aperture shuttcrsyorg-iperfp igm any-,other operation or; ope 'fl fllonsewh jeh may-be. considered nte esse iikel-y-to occunat'the exposure toithe li vht. :beami i, :3

m g ne a a a liQwt glo re n otgwhich is bentiun er-the backlcornerioi ,thema azineandiis a ertnred, asrehown in see vi en n ii i 9i .l'ti3;il2 jt0 the vertical partof thebaseplafte 10 isatc ampil ye h 3 g e c i sp in p v ezaw b n mgee s a mer 1& quits the leve n o the p ion indieet d. ymhe eh'e dgdas linesow ig-ils a i y-the tal l e Rig 3- he wetendz hihisl re s. outwardly there-en e vb e1 .be we st aee h 0U$h1$hl5d9HblEd P s es me l, bclt h v e; e awm unli r 6 .-:Th s forms a clamp on the en of-thej-leyer 1B which vgripe t e ends. at a loop 51 at: r a y nflamm b e mat e svelte? fi from ,whichfthe emulsion'has been-rem ved. Tlus p 5 :hblds t -lever leieltna q t in :2 ,conjunctively,.:if desired.

The upper end of the lever 13"projects -beyond its pivot and is bent outward, as at 21, in Figs-1 and 2. Promoting-into the path of movement of this end 21 are the r ends-of tworesilient contacts 22i which form the terminals of a battery circuit 23 and are secured on suitable insulation 'on' the base plate 10 andare-insulated from one another. The ends of these contacts 22 are'so shaped and'=adjusted asto allow the end 21 of the lever 13 to contact with them during a sensible part of its movement, thus closing the circuit 23 only iduringsuchmovemcnt, that is, the end 21 is clear of the contacts 22-at both extremes of its movement but contacts with t'hem and connects together to close the circuit while passing between'these extremes. This insures that the battery circuit 23 is openwhen the fuse strip or link is in place, and ready for use, and 'also'when-the fuse is disconnected and the lever I3iis at the further limit of its movement under the action of'its-spring. The circ'uit'23 is'closed'only "in-moving from one'jposition .t'o thevother and therefore the battery cannot'fbew'asting, if for any reason the fuse has either been released or hasnot been connected.-

' In the battery circuit-23' is the coil of an electromagnet 24, the armature of which is mounted on the end of a "pivoted lever'25. The movement'of this-armature, when the electromagnet is energized by'the closingo'f the circuit 2:3, eflects the'release of themechanism which sustains the apertureshutter of the operating room or any other precautionary mechanism which may be considered necessary, asstated in thapreambl'e to'this specification. 1 i

Inlthe, drawing herewith, the armature lever 25 is shown as sustaining the end of'a 1 lever 26 which is pivfifigd ahdbn 1v'vh'ic h is carried a weight 28, whichis flexibly connected by a loose line, orjby a chain 29 to one end of a bell crank lever 30, which is pivoted at 31 to the wall 'of'the operating The/other arm of this bell crank is ipin-c'o'nn'ect'ed at 32' to a bar 33' which is endwise slidable in sec ired to the wall in which" are the'several aperturesltc the .auditori um. The shutter 35offe'ach ei'ture has afrod 36 projecting upwardf" o'm it which rod has a hook-like projection '37 which is designed to'e ngage "and suspend the shutter on the upper edge of the bar 33, when that bar is in its normal position in whichlti retained by a coil spring 41 con- "nected to the bell'crank lever arm or to the Adjacent to the place Q; .suspension 6f37 on the bar 33 the app-creamer ,of-the bartis removed, as at 38, so that when the bar is endwise moved by the fall of the weight 28 the removed corner- 38 is moved under the hook end 37 ofi the shutter rod 36, when each-shutter falls of itsown wei t and its wall aperture of thebperating room: The movement of the ban-"33 may be limite'dewithin the range-required bythe angular mvement of the bell crank lever 30 between the adjacentfgu'ide 34'and a' stop 39 secured to the wall.

'T'O' 'facilitate the raisingand hookingof .u.

the shutter rods 36 on the bar 33, aguide member 40 ofthin sheet metal, bent to the required =form', is attached to thewall ,ad- 'jacent'to the place of suspensionbf each rod 36, which guide member directs the upper end 37 ofthe red into its proper place. To enable thecircuit 23 to 'be'closed at any time by the operator, or by an inspector, to test the shutter operating mechanismya push button 42is attached to the "upper end of the base plate 10 and arranged in a shunt 43 of the circuit 23, as shown in Fig: 2" and in' the diagram, Fig. 4;

- Tdo' not desire to be confined to the partic'ular construction here set forth of operati'ng-the shutter closing'mech'ani sm, but desire protection on the automatic thermal 'ofr'ignition released circuit closing deviceby which any precautionary safety mechanism may be operated. Thei'gni'tion' fuse is'p'referred as the danger is most frequentlyekperience'd from the film igniting'at, or a'djace'nt to the lamp exposure,ibut thedevice can be used'for either one or 'both.

The arrangement of the fuse over the loose loop 5 and the application of it to hold the contact lever 13-21 in a position wherein a circuit is open, but closablo on release-,-is an effective construction. The-use of. a,leve1: in the connection between fuse and'contact is a convenient one is "simple in construction. Having now particularly described 111 'invention, I hereby declare that what I 0 'im as new and'desire'to Letters Patent, is: s

' 1; A circuit closing device for operating te p y a v protected in by a safety appliance in conjunction with at cinematograph" machine, said device 'comprising a base plate secured to the lower ba'ckof'thefilm magazine of the machine, the'lower end of-which hase plate is bent underthe magazine and has revision for attachment to it of atherma' fuse, resilient' contacts secured on suitable insulation on thebase' plate, a lever pivotally' mounted on the base plate adjacent to said resilient contacts, one end of which lever has provision for connecting to it the other end of the thermal fuse, the other end of said lever having provision to engage and connect the resilient contacts during movement of the lever from one extreme of its movement to the other.

2. A circuit closing switch comprising a base plate, one end of which is bent over to project away from the plane of the remaining portion of the plate, said plate having ears, a clamp lever having ears cooperating with said plate ears and a pivot pin connecting said ears, said clamp lever having one end bent outwardly and back upon itself to form a clamp member, a bolt passing through said clamp member, and a fusible connection between said lever and said bent extension'of said base plate, and circuit terminal members insulated on said base plate and adapted to be engaged by said lever when said fusible connection is released, and means continuously tending to move said lever to engage said circuit terminals.

3. A thermo circuit switch comprising a base plate having one end bent backwardly and slotted, a lever pivoted to said base plate and having a clamp member at its lower end, a fusible body secured by said clamp member and passing through said slotted portion of said base plate to hold said lever in one position, a spring continuously tending to move said lever to another position, contact members insulated and supported on said base member, said lever having a heel to engage said contact members when said lever "is released, said lever having a hook portion to project into the slot of said base member and a fusible connection between said base member and said hook member.

4. A circuit closing switch comprising a base plate having an offset portion and having one end bent forwardly and apertured, a lever pivoted to said ofi'set portion and having a clamp member at its lower end, a fusible body secured by said clamp member and passing through said apertured portion of said base plate to hold said lever in one position, a spring continuously tending to move said lever to another position, contact 1 members insulated and supported on said base member, said lever having a heel to engage said contact members when said lever is in one position.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ELLIS W. FOX. Witnesses:

ROWLAND Bnrrmm, MAY WHYTE. 

